Shedding Light on
Sunrise Foods' Misinformation
As anticipated, Sunrise Foods International has launched a website dedicated to its plans for the Alabo Street Wharf. It’s every bit the disappointment we expected, packed with misinformation, factual omissions, and insensitivity to the harm the company poses to our neighborhood.
This kind of duplicity can be disheartening – until you remember why it exists. Sunrise Foods International is pushing this messaging in order to create a sense of inevitability around the project while also downplaying the threat it poses to the community. That this website exists at all can be interpreted as a sign that they are uneasy about community resistance, and that our efforts are working!
To help you cut through Sunrise Foods’ misinformation, we compiled the following breakdown addressing some of their main claims – along with the key information they’ve left out.
The Claim:
Who is Sunrise Foods International?
For over 25 years, Sunrise Foods has sourced, processed, and marketed specialty agri-food ingredients for food and animal feed. Founded by an organic farming family, the company remains committed to its founders’ mission of improving access to nutritious, sustainably produced organic and non-GMO products. Today, Sunrise Foods operates organic grain facilities across North America and Europe, ensuring reliable supply chains and best-in-class service for customers, farmers, and partners—while prioritizing safety, responsibility, and strong community relationships.
What They Left Out:
Sunrise Foods positions itself as a humble family business that made good. In reality, the company is a subsidiary of Tiryaki Agro, a Turkey-based global conglomerate. Numerous Tiryaki companies have been caught smuggling non-organic products into the EU and US – including Sunrise Foods International. Most products passing through this facility would likely originate in the Black Sea region and be routed through Turkey, although sourcing could potentially occur anywhere; specific farms and locations are expected to vary with each shipment.
The Claim:
What does it mean to be the United States’ first dedicated organic port?
The Alabo Street Wharf facility will be the first U.S. port operation dedicated to handling organic products. By adhering to rigorous organic-certified handling practices, Sunrise Foods will protect the integrity of organic transloading, expand nationwide access to organic grains, and meet the growing demand for sustainably sourced agricultural products.
What They Left Out:
The reason it is the first is not because the U.S. has never imported organic products via a port or never had these standards before, but because this location is too small to be used for anything else. If this same facility were at a larger industrial area, it would be unable to claim this title, as there is typically more than one customer at a port. They are currently trying to relocate this operation from a terminal in Houston.
The Claim:
How is Sunrise Foods’ organic transloading facility different from a grain terminal?
A transloading facility is a specialized logistics hub that transfers grain directly from one mode of transportation to another, such as from vessels to covered rail cars. These facilities are designed for short-term handling, with minimal storage time typically ranging from a few days to about four weeks. In contrast, a grain terminal is built for long-term storage, often holding grain for several months to years. Terminals typically have large silos or elevators and may include processing equipment for cleaning, drying, and blending. Because transloading facilities store grain for shorter periods with minimal processing, they generally generate less dust, have lower emissions, and pose reduced pest risks compared to traditional grain terminals.
What products will be handled at the facility?
The product will vary based on inventory, availability, and market demand, but will primarily include organic soybeans, soybean meal, sunflower meal, peas, and wheat.
What They Left Out:
There are three phases of Sunrise Foods’ plans for the Alabo Street Wharf complex: the wharf grain facility (Phase 1); a brand new warehouse on Alabo Street between Chartres and the levee (Phase 2); and a brand new vegetable oil processing facility (Phase 3). By focusing exclusively on Phase 1, the company is trying to minimize the devastating impact that this enormous, mostly new industrial complex will have on our neighborhood. While they are indeed legally permitted to obscure information that has to do with future economic developments, this strategy also may well be a tactic to obscure the full scope of the project and mitigate backlash.
Furthermore, the clarification over whether Phase 1 is or isn’t a “grain terminal” also appears to be intended to make the project seem less scary; in reality, the project has been referred to as a grain terminal in official proceedings.
The Claim:
What dust mitigation measures will be in place at the facility?
Sunrise Foods has incorporated a multi-layered dust control system throughout its transloading operations to minimize air quality impacts and protect the surrounding community. From vessel unloading to loading into covered railcars, dust control measures are applied to contain, collect, and minimize dust emissions.
Will Sunrise Foods provide additional visuals and media that detail the operational process and dust mitigation approaches?
Yes, we look forward to sharing additional media in the coming weeks that highlights the operational process and dust mitigation measures.
What They Left Out:
We have obtained a leaked video of Sunrise Foods’ process, and it is far from dust-free.
Clamshell bucket cranes like this create dust – while Sunrise Foods’ vacuum hoppers may mitigate some of the dust, they won’t prevent grain dust from escaping the bucket and entering our neighborhood. Here’s a video of what this unloading method looks like in practice.
You might also find yourself asking, if this process video already exists, then why does Sunrise “look forward to sharing additional media in the coming weeks”? One explanation could be that, by withholding such content from the public, they offer us less time to learn, get organized, and resist.
The Claim:
What are the key findings from the project’s air quality assessment?
The air quality assessment conducted by Ramboll—a leading engineering and environmental consulting firm—determined that the Alabo Street facility’s contribution to particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in the surrounding neighborhood is minimal, and the area’s cumulative air quality will remain within public health standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- The facility’s PM2.5 and PM10 levels, when combined with existing regional air quality, remain within public health thresholds.
- In a 24-hour period, the facility may contribute up to 7.5 µg/m³ of PM10 at the nearest homes. This is part of the cumulative air quality, which remains below the EPA’s 150 µg/m³ public health limit.
- In a 24-hour period, the facility may contribute up to 1.2 µg/m³ of PM2.5 at the nearest homes. This is part of the cumulative air quality, which remains below the EPA’s 35 µg/m³ public health limit.
- In a 1-year period, the facility may contribute up to 0.2 µg/m³ of PM2.5 at the nearest homes. This is part of the cumulative air quality, which remains below the EPA’s 9 µg/m³ public health limit.
What They Left Out:
These numbers mean practically nothing without the full report. Sunrise Foods has the ability to give us the full report, but hasn’t yet. This is selective data that Sunrise has hand-picked for disclosure. Withholding the complete report is not a “commitment to transparency, community health and safety, or ongoing engagement.” Here are a few examples of what’s left out of their disclosure:
- Sunrise uses “nearest home” in their assessment. This is unspecified and used as an arbitrary measurement to base all the impacts of PM2.5 and PM10. There is no verification on whether this location is near the train or wharf, or if it is even a home. It is also unclear how far the dust extends through the neighborhood.
- The assessment fails to account for cumulative air quality impacts on pedestrians and animals who use the green space between the “nearest home” and the facility.
- The assessment for a 1-year timeframe, does not specify if the average they use for “nearest homes”. Without verification or understanding of how they came up with this data or the definition of “nearest homes” it is quite literally impossible to understand the statement.
The Claim:
What are PM10 and PM2.5?
Air quality considerations related to the project center on particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), which often derive from different emissions sources and have different chemical compositions. Emissions from combustion of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel or wood produce much of the PM2.5 pollution found in outdoor air, as well as a significant proportion of PM10. PM10 also includes dust from construction sites, landfills and agriculture, wildfires and brush/waste burning, industrial sources, wind-blown dust from open lands, pollen and fragments of bacteria.
What They Left Out:
Despite apparently reprinting content from the California Air Resources Board without attribution, Sunrise Foods decided to leave out the health impacts described by that same resource – likely because the impacts can be grave. According to the CARB:
“For PM2.5, short-term exposures (up to 24-hours duration) have been associated with premature mortality, increased hospital admissions for heart or lung causes, acute and chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, emergency room visits, respiratory symptoms, and restricted activity days…
Short-term exposures to PM10 have been associated primarily with worsening of respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), leading to hospitalization and emergency department visits…
Long-term (months to years) exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to premature death, particularly in people who have chronic heart or lung diseases, and reduced lung function growth in children. The effects of long-term exposure to PM10 are less clear, although several studies suggest a link between long-term PM10 exposure and respiratory mortality.”
The Claim:
How many jobs is this project expected to create?
The Sunrise Foods facility will generate 51 permanent jobs and 150 construction jobs during the one-year construction phase.
Direct Full-Time Jobs: 17 positions, including:
- 6 facility personnel
- 4 security personnel
- 7 stevedores
Indirect Jobs: 34 additional jobs are expected to be created in related industries, based on economic modeling that estimates 1.5 to 2.5 indirect jobs for every direct port operations job (Source: AAPA Port & Maritime Industry Economic Impact Report).
Construction Jobs: 150 temporary jobs will be supported during the one-year construction phase, with 10 direct jobs per year for every $1 million invested in infrastructure (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022 estimates).
What They Left Out:
These job and investment estimates include numbers for both Phase 1 and Phase 2. Elsewhere, Sunrise Foods has ignored future phases in order to minimize the project’s impacts; here, they are embracing the project’s future in order to overstate its potential economic impact.
More importantly, these figures distract from the true economic impact this project is likely to have on our area. For one thing, none of these jobs are promised to anyone in the Lower Ninth Ward or Arabi. They will likely use union labor; while we certainly have nothing against unions, this means that it is unlikely that any of these jobs will go to locals in the neighborhood. And even if they did, our neighborhood will be crushed by the cumulative impacts of the terminal complex – which will undermine our property values, spike our healthcare expenses, and drive commercial divestment.
The Claim:
What is the expected amount of rail traffic in the neighborhood?
Sunrise Foods is allotted up to 10 covered rail cars per day. The timing of rail operations is determined by Norfolk Southern but is expected to be Monday-Friday, during daylight hours. For inquiries regarding rail schedules and operations beyond Sunrise Foods, please contact Norfolk Southern at NSGovernmentRelations@nscorp.com.
What They Left Out:
Once again, Sunrise Foods is acting as if this project does not include additional future phases. Also, the phrasing here amounts to them saying they can use the rail at any time they want, regardless of day or time, and that they are only choosing those hours as a courtesy. They also fail to mention that Dupuy Storage is in the midst of redoing their own private rail spur that would connect to the Norfolk Southern track. This means that it is not only Sunrise rail traffic we have to worry about, but also all other future development brought in by the possibility of having this area industrialized.
The Claim:
What are the facility’s operating hours?
Normal operating hours will be a 40-hour work week with intermittent periods of extended weekday and weekend operation.
What They Left Out:
Again, the phrasing here amounts to Sunrise Foods saying that operating within a 40-hour week is a courtesy. Beyond that, note how even in this vague disclosure they acknowledge that they already expect to operate outside the regular 40-hour work week. Given how cagey they have been about other project details, this could imply that they are confident that they will often be engaging in heavy industrial activity outside of normal working hours.
Sadly, yet unsurprisingly, this website was built to deceive. We see segmentation of project phases, designed to shroud the facts rather than clarify them, alongside semantic name changes designed to mislead. Information is withheld, findings are downplayed, and there’s a blatant disregard for the company’s undeniable role in the industrialization of our neighborhood. This site is not a tool for transparency, but manipulative messaging, designed to divide opinions.
Together we can stop Sunrise Foods International and the Port of New Orleans before they do any further harm to our neighborhood. But we need help in this fight. Please sign our petition, and consider whether you’re able to contribute by making a financial donation to support advocacy associated with this effort, or whether you can volunteer some of your time and skills to help protect our community.